Stabilization device

ABSTRACT

A stabilization device including a hand support configured to be supported by human operation, an actuator connected to the hand support and a mounting assembly affixed to the actuator and configured to be attached to an external device capable of being supported under human operation. The actuator provides compensating planar motion to the hand support under control of a motion detection and compensation controller when the motion detection and compensation controller detects motion associated with the hand support being supported under human operation. The actuator includes a first rotatable shaft providing a first compensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion, and a second rotatable shaft providing a second compensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion under control of the motion detection and compensation controller, where the second compensation motion is orthogonal to the first compensation motion.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to stabilization device for hand-heldobjects. Embodiments presented herein allows a user to more accuratelyaim or position a hand-held device to which the stabilization device maybe attached, for example shoulder-mounted hand-carried firearm or ashoulder-carried cinematography camera rig.

BRIEF SUMMARY

It should be appreciated that this Summary is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to beused to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A stabilization device is disclosed herein as including a hand supportconfigured to be supported by human operation and an actuator connectedto the hand support. The actuator may be configured to providecompensating planar motion to the hand support under control of a motiondetection and compensation controller when the motion detection andcompensation controller detects motion associated with the hand supportbeing supported under human operation. The stabilizer device furtherincludes a mounting assembly affixed to the actuator and configured tobe attached to an external device capable of being supported under humanoperation.

The stabilization device as disclosed herein is further configured suchthat the actuator includes a first rotatable shaft providing a firstcompensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion undercontrol of the motion detection and compensation controller, andincludes a second rotatable shaft providing a second compensation motionto the hand support within the planar motion under control of the motiondetection and compensation controller, the second compensation motionbeing orthogonal to the first compensation motion.

Another configuration of a stabilization device as disclosed herein isfurther configured such that the actuator includes a first rotatableshaft providing a first compensation motion to the hand support withinthe planar motion under control of the motion detection and compensationcontroller, the first compensation motion to the hand support beingorthogonal to a linear axis of the first rotatable shaft.

The stabilization device as disclosed herein is further configured suchthat the actuator further includes a first linkage connected to a firstend of the first rotatable shaft, the first linkage configured toprovide the compensation motion to the hand support within a range ofmotion defined by a linear slot on the hand support, the linear slotbeing oriented parallel to a direction of the first compensation motion.

Another configuration of a stabilization device as disclosed herein isfurther configured such that the actuator includes a rotatable shaftproviding a compensation motion to the hand support within the planarmotion under control of the motion detection and compensationcontroller, the compensation motion to the hand support being orthogonalto a linear axis of the rotatable shaft.

The stabilization device as disclosed herein is further configured suchthat the actuator further includes a first linkage connected to a firstend of the rotatable shaft, the first linkage configured to provide thecompensation motion to the hand support within a range of motion definedby a rotational motion of a portion of the first linkage travelingwithin a linear slot on the hand support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the stabilization device will be better understood from thefollowing detailed description with reference to the drawings, which arenot necessarily drawing to scale and in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a side view of a hand-held stabilizer as disclosedherein on a small caliber firearm;

FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective front view of the hand-held stabilizeron the small caliber firearm of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of another example of a hand-heldstabilizer as disclosed herein on a shoulder-mounted camera rig;

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded front perspective assembly view ofanother example of a hand-held stabilizer as disclosed herein showing anupper and a lower module;

FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded rear perspective assembly view of thehand-held stabilizer showing the upper and lower module of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A illustrates an exploded front perspective assembly view of theupper module of the hand-held stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B;

FIG. 4B illustrates an exploded rear perspective assembly view of theupper module of the hand-held stabilizer of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial exploded front perspective assembly view ofactuator assembly of the lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS.3A-3B;

FIG. 6A illustrates a partial exploded rear perspective assembly view ofthe lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B particularlyillustrating the shaft assemblies, the motor assembly and the geartrain;

FIG. 6B illustrates a rear sectional view (A-A) from FIG. 5 of the lowermodule of the hand stabilizer of FIG. 6A particularly illustrating theshaft assemblies, the motor assembly, the gear train and the actuatorframe;

FIG. 7 illustrates a partial exploded rear perspective assembly view ofthe lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B particularlyillustrating the shaft assemblies, the motor assembly, the gear trainand the front and rear linkage assemblies;

FIG. 8A illustrates a rear perspective partial assembly view of thelower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B particularlyillustrating the shaft assemblies and the printed circuit board (PCB);

FIG. 8B illustrates a rear plan partial assembly view (B-B) of the lowermodule of the hand stabilizer of FIG. 8A particularly illustrating theshaft assemblies and the printed circuit board (PCB);

FIG. 9A illustrates a rear perspective view of the hand guard assemblyof the lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B, particularlyillustrating the end plate, the hand grip assembly and the hand guardlinkage connection plates;

FIG. 9B illustrates a partial front cross-sectional view (C-C) of thehand guard assembly of the lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIG.9A, particularly illustrating the end plate, the hand grip assembly, thehand guard linkage connection plates and a rear rotational motionlinkage assembly;

FIG. 10A illustrates a front perspective view of the hand guard linkageconnection plate;

FIG. 10B illustrates a rear perspective view of the hand guard linkageconnection plate of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 11 illustrates a partial exploded front perspective assembly viewof the actuator assembly and the and hand guard assembly without anyrotational motion linkage assemblies;

FIG. 12A illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in a stowed position;

FIG. 12B illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in a first vertical (Y-direction)extending position;

FIG. 12C illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in a second vertical (Y-direction)position;

FIG. 12D illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in the first vertical (Y-direction) ofFIG. 12B and a first horizontal (X-direction) position;

FIG. 13 illustrates a general representation the control electronics fora stabilization system of a stabilizer as disclosed herein;

FIG. 14 illustrates a general representation of a compensation algorithmas disclosed herein;

FIG. 15 illustrates an alternative representation of a compensationalgorithm as disclosed herein;

FIG. 16 illustrates another alternative representation of a compensationalgorithm as disclosed herein; and

FIG. 17 illustrates a general representation of a digital filter asdisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A hand-held stabilizer 10 described herein may be used to stabilize anobject held on one end by the user's hands where the opposite end of thedevice may be configured to be secured to or against the user's body.The hand-held stabilizer may isolate motion from the user in a planetangent to a line between the point of the device secured to or againstthe body of the user, and the corresponding point where the user's handshold the free end of the device.

One such device that may be used with the hand-held stabilizer 10 may bea small caliber firearm defined herein as being any conventional orfuture developed firearm normally fired by an individual person,including handguns, shotguns, sporting rifles, or military rifles. Smallcaliber firearms may also include heavier weapons such as lightmachineguns (e.g., the US military's M-249 squad automatic weapon orSAW) and medium machineguns (e.g., the US military's M-60).

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the hand-held stabilizer 10 on a smallcaliber firearm 20, and FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective front view ofthe hand-held stabilizer 10 on the small caliber firearm 20 of FIG. 1A.

A firearm 20 generally includes a barrel 22, a barrel handguard 24 wherea user normally grips the fore-end of the firearm 20, picatinny rails 26oriented on at least one side of the barrel handguard 24 configured toattach peripheral devices to the firearm 20, a lower receiver 28containing the trigger group and magazine feed well, an upper receiver30 containing the bolt carrier group, and a stock 32 that may or may notbe collapsible and may be configured to contact the front shouldersurface of the user.

The hand-held stabilizer 10 may be mounted on the barrel handguard 24where a user would normally grip or carry the fore end of the firearm20. In various configurations, the hand-held stabilizer 10 may bemounted on a bottom side portion of the barrel handguard 24, (asdepicted in FIGS. 1A-1B), whereas in other configurations, the hand-heldstabilizer 10 may be mounted to the left or right side of the barrelhandguard 24 via corresponding picatinny rails 26 depending on theuser's preference and/or the devices mounted the picatinny rails 26 ofthe barrel handguard 24.

Regardless of where the hand-held stabilizer 10 may be mounted on thefore-end of the firearm 20, the hand-held stabilizer 10 may be capableof offsetting motion input by the hand(s) or supporting member of theuser holding the fore end of the firearm 20 by compensating for motionin the X-Y plane as depicted by the coordinate indictors in the figures.The coordinate indicators in the figures represent (for example, inrelation to the firearm 20 of FIGS. 1A and 1B): a Z-direction beingco-linear with a line between the body supported aft end portion of thestock 32 and the hand-supported barrel 22 of the firearm; a X-directionbeing a horizontal, left-right “windage” direction of motion withrespect to the barrel 22 of the firearm 20; and the Y-direction being avertical, up-down “elevation” direction of motion with respect to thebarrel 22 of the firearm 20.

The term “fore grip” as used herein means a vertical grip extending fromthe hand guard, a horizontal gripping surface on the hand guard, or anyother gripping surface forward of the pistol grip on lower receiver 104(e.g., a gripping surface on the front side of the magazine well).

During normal use of the firearm 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1B, theupper receiver 30 and lower receiver 28 are rigidly connected by atleast two pins and thus, the barrel 22 and stock 32 are rigidlyconnected to one another. In other words, there may be no relativepivoting or rotation between barrel 22 and stock 32 (including norelative rotation between barrel 22 and stock 32).

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of another configuration of the hand-heldstabilizer 10 on a shoulder-mounted camera rig 30. The hand-heldstabilizer 10 may be mounted to the hand grip(s) 36 that may be fixedlyattached the frame 32 that may be connected at a rear portion of theframe 32 to shoulder pad or pads 34. In this configuration, the shoulderpad(s) 34 may be placed on top of the shoulder(s) of the user who mayhold the handgrip(s) 36 with a hand or hands while the hand-heldstabilizer 10 mounted between the handgrip(s) 36 and the frame 32provides compensation in a plane of motion perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the frame 32. Thus, stabilization motion isprovided by the hand-held stabilizer 10, in the plane of motion, to acorresponding camera lens assembly 38 to isolate a user's movementtransmitted to the camera lens assembly 38 by the hand grip(s) 36.

FIG. 3A illustrates a front exploded perspective assembly view of anexample of a hand-held stabilizer 10 as disclosed herein, showing anupper 100 and a lower module 200. FIG. 3B illustrates a rear explodedperspective assembly view of the hand-held stabilizer 10 of FIG. 3A.

The upper module 100 may be secured to the lower module 200 via modulefasteners 12. The lower module 200 may be comprised of two mainsub-assemblies, the actuator assembly 210 and the handguard assembly330. Upper assembly 100, as described in FIGS. 4A-4B, includes a userinterface 160, power supply 140 and locking lever 130 to attach thehand-mounted stabilizer 10 to any corresponding device. Lower assembly200, as described in FIGS. 5-12D, includes the actuator assembly 210configured to move the handguard assembly 330 relative to the upperassembly 100 in the X-Y plane.

FIG. 4A illustrates a front exploded perspective assembly view of theupper module 100 of the hand-held stabilizer 10 of FIGS. 3A-3B, and FIG.4B illustrates a rear exploded perspective assembly view of the uppermodule 100 of FIG. 4A.

The upper module 100 includes a main housing 110 that supports aclamping base 120, a rail locking lever assembly 130, a power supply orbattery case 140, an interconnect printed circuit board (PCB) 150, auser interface 160 and a user interface PCB 170.

The main housing 110 includes a battery compartment receiver 112oriented in the Z-axis direction while configured to hold the batterycase 140 therein and provide an electrical connection within the mainhousing 110 to both the interconnect PCB 150 and the user interface PCB170. The main housing 110 also includes side mounted UI receiver 114portion configured to hold both the user interface PCB 170 within theenclosure of the main housing 110 and provide for fixed attachmentposition of the user interface 160. The main housing 110 furtherincludes a clamp receiver 116 portion that mates to a top-mountedclamping base 120 and protects the interconnect PCB 150 thereunder whileconfigured to provide a weather-proof connection to the lower module 200of the stabilizer device 10.

The clamping base 120 may be affixed to the clamp receiver 116 withfasteners (not shown, fastener assembly lines are alternatelyillustrated), where the clamping base 120 includes a set of rail claws122 on a distal side of the clamping base 120 and a lever post 124 on aside opposite the distal side for receiving a rail locking leverassembly 130. The rail claws 122 are configured to engage either theleft or right side of the picatinny rails on the firearm 20 depicted inFIGS. 1A and 1B, or an Arca-Swiss style mounting receiver attached tothe base of the camera and lens assembly 38 of FIG. 2.

A corresponding lever 132 of the rail locking lever assembly 130 may beconfigured to engage an opposite side of, for example, the picatinnyrails or the Arca-Swiss receiver, by means of a rotating clamp 134protruding from the lever 132 configured to be rotated upon the levelpost 124 by a user. The rail locking lever assembly further includes aclamp bushing 136 and a fastener 138 connected to the lever post 124 ofthe clamping base 120 to secure the rail locking lever assembly 130 in arotating configuration about the lever post 124.

The power supply case 140 includes an end cap 142 to provide aweather-proof enclosure for a power supply, for example, a disposable orrechargeable battery or batteries.

The interconnect PCB 150 includes an upper electrical connection 152configured to provide a point of electrical connection for conductorsconnected to a corresponding user interface PCB 170 electrical and/orcommunication connection 174. Opposite the upper electrical connection152 and on an opposite side of the interconnect PCB 150 may be a lowerelectrical connection 154 configured to provide an electrical connectionto the lower module 200, particularly, for example, the upper moduleelectrical connection 302 on the lower module PCB 300 as shown in FIG.5.

The user interface (UI) 160 may include a toggle or momentary switch162, a mode selector switch 164 and a lighted visual indicator 166configured to indicate a power level, an operational state and/or aselected mode corresponding to the mode selection switch 164, orequivalent components. The UI switch 162 may be activated by the user'sthumb or finger of the hand that holds the stabilizer device 10 afterthe user has aligned the device with a particular reference point (aswith the camera and lens assembly 138), or an object, (as with a targetaligned with iron sights or an optical aiming system of the firearm 20).

When the stabilizer device 10 may be activated by the switch 162, thestabilization system may be activated in a mode that may be selected bythe mode selector switch 164. For example, a first position “I” mayactivate a mode when the user may be in an environment when there may belittle induced movement on the object being stabilized, for example,when a fore end of a firearm may be being supported on the ground by abi pod. A second position “II” may activate another mode where the usermay be walking in an environment of moderate induced movement. A thirdposition, “III” may activate another mode where the user may be ridingon a vehicle at moderate or high speeds and the object may be in anenvironment of large amounts of induced movement subject to variousmovement frequencies. In summary, the mode selector switch 164 on the UI160 may provide for different operating or processing modes that thestabilization device 10 operates in accordance with to supplycompensating motion to the lower module 200.

The UI PCB 170 may be mounted to the internal side of the UI 160 orother suitable location and includes a surface mounted PCB switch 172 inmechanical connection with the UI switch 162 and a PCBelectrical/communication connection 174 in communication with the upperelectrical connection 152 of the upper module interconnect PCB 150.Additionally, UI PCB fasteners 176 may connect the UI PCB 170 to theinterior side of the UI 160, and an oppositely disposed set of UI PCBfasteners 176 may connect the UI 160 the main housing 110 via theperimeter of the UI receiver 114.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial front exploded perspective assembly view ofthe actuator assembly 210 of lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10of FIGS. 3A-3B. For clarity purposes, the gear train assembly 260,(shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B), and motion linkage assemblies 280,(shown in FIG. 7), of the actuator assembly 210 are not shown in FIG. 5.

The actuator assembly 210 includes an actuator frame 220, a horizontalmotion shaft assembly 230, a vertical motion shaft 240, a motor assembly250, a gear train assembly 260, (as further described in FIGS. 6A and6B), rotational motion linkage assemblies 280, (as further described inFIG. 7), printed circuit board (PCB) 300, and actuator motion shaftbearing plates 320.

Actuator frame 220 includes an upper module interface aperture 222 thatreceives the upper module interconnect PCB 150 of the upper module 100.The upper module interface aperture 222 may be sealed in a weather-proofmanner by the corresponding surface of the clamp receiver 116 of themain housing 110 of the upper module 100. Actuator frame 220 furtherincludes a front opening 224 and a rear opening 226 relative to theZ-axis.

The horizontal motion shaft assembly 230 includes a left horizontalmotion shaft 232 and a right horizontal motion shaft 234 mounted in aco-planar configuration within the X-Z plane. A sensor magnet 236, (morevisibly illustrated in FIG. 6A), may be secured to a collar surroundingthe right horizontal motion shaft 234 and configured to interact with acorresponding sensor 314 mounted on PCB 300, (as illustrated in FIG.8B). Sensor 314 may include, but not be limited to, a Hall-effect typesensor or a magneto resistive sensor, both utilizing the sensor magnet236 of the right horizontal motion shaft 234 and the correspondingsensor magnet 242 on the vertical motion shaft 240. Alternatively, arotary encoding type sensor may be used without any magnets to directlyencode position data from any of the horizontal or vertical motionshafts.

The vertical motion shaft 240 may be positioned below and directlybetween the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230. The vertical motionshaft 240 includes a sensor magnet 242 secured to a collar surroundingthe vertical motion shaft 240 and configured to interact with acorresponding Hall-effect sensor 314 mounted on the PCB 300, (asillustrated in FIG. 8B).

The horizontal motion shaft assembly 230 may be driven by the horizontalmotion servomotor 252 of motor assembly 250 via the gear train assembly260. The vertical motion shaft 240 may be correspondingly driven by thevertical motion servomotor 254 of the motor assembly 250 via the geartrain assembly 260. (The gear train assembly 260 is further described inmore detail below in the description of FIGS. 6A and 6B).

PCB 300 includes an upper module electrical connection 302 configured tocommunicate with the lower electrical connection 154 of the upper moduleinterconnect PCB 150. PCB 300, (further described in more detail belowin the description of FIGS. 8A and 8B), includes a capacitor 308, ahorizontal motion signal output 310, a vertical motion signal output312, horizontal motion shaft recesses 316 and a vertical motion shaftaperture 318.

Actuator motion shaft bearing plates 320 are connected to the frontopening 224 and rear opening 226 of the actuator frame 220 by bearingplate fasteners as illustrated in FIG. 5. Each actuator motion shaftbearing plate 320 further includes two horizontal motion shaft bearingapertures 322 surrounded by corresponding horizontal motion shaftbearing bushings 324, and a vertical motion shaft bearing aperture 326surrounded by a vertical motion shaft bearing bushing 328. The rearactuator motion shaft bearing plate 320, (left side of FIG. 5), furtherincludes gear train spindles 329 for supporting corresponding individualgears of the gear train assembly 260.

FIG. 6A illustrates a rear partial exploded perspective assembly view ofthe lower module of the hand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B particularlyillustrating the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230, the verticalmotion shaft 240, the motor assembly 250 and the gear train assembly260. FIG. 6B illustrates a corresponding rear sectional view (A-A) fromFIG. 5 of the lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10 of FIG. 6Aparticularly illustrating the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230, thevertical motion shaft 240, the gear train assembly 260 and the actuatorframe 220.

The gear train assembly 260 will be described in detail belowdemonstrating how each motors of the motor assembly 250 respectively,control the rotational motion of the horizontal motion shaft assembly230 and the vertical motion shaft 240.

Horizontal motion servomotor 252 drives a first horizontal motionreduction gear 262, that drives a second reduction gear 264, the drive athird reduction gear 266 to finally rotationally drive a horizontalmotion transfer gear 268 mounted on the distal end of the lefthorizontal motion shaft 232. The horizontal motion transfer gear 268directly drives a horizontal motion coupling gear 270 mounted on thedistal end of the right horizontal motion shaft 234, such that anyrotation of the left horizontal motion shaft 232 driven by thehorizontal motion servo-motor 252 corresponds to an equal and oppositerotational motion of the right horizontal motion shaft 234.

Likewise, the vertical motion servo-motor 254 drives a first verticalmotion reduction gear 272, that drives a second vertical motionreduction gear 274, that drives a third vertical motion reduction gear276, that directly drives a vertical motion coupling gear 278 mounted onthe distal end of the vertical motion shaft 240 to control its rotation.

FIG. 7 illustrates a partial exploded rear perspective assembly view ofthe lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10 of FIGS. 3A-3Bparticularly illustrating the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230,vertical motion shaft 240, motor assembly 250, gear train assembly 260,and rotational motion linkage assemblies 280.

The rotational motion linkage assemblies 280 include a front linkageassembly 282 mounted on the front distal ends of the horizontal motionshaft assembly 230 and the vertical motion shaft 240. Likewise, a rearlinkage assembly 284 may be mounted on the rear distal ends of thehorizontal motion shaft assembly 230 and the vertical motion shaft 240.The front linkage assembly 282 and rear linkage assembly 284 areidentical in their features and function but only differ in theirdisposition within the actuator assembly 210.

For clarity purposes, the rear linkage assembly 284 will now bedescribed, although the front linkage assembly 282 may be similarlyconfigured. The distal rear end of the left horizontal motion shaft 232may be affixed to a left horizontal motion cam link and pin 286rotationally connected to an upper portion of a left horizontal motionlink 288. Likewise, the distal rear end of the right horizontal motionshaft 234 may be affixed to the right horizontal motion cam link and pin290 rotationally connected to an upper portion of a right horizontalmotion link 292.

Thus, when the horizontal motion servo-motor 252 transmits a rotationalmotion through the gear train 260 to the horizontal motion shaftassembly 230, both the left and right horizontal motion cam link andpins 286 and 290 move their corresponding horizontal motion links 288and 292 in similar upward or downward motion relative to the Y-axis.

The distal rear end of the vertical motion shaft 240 may be a fixed to avertical motion cam link 294 and pin 296. Likewise, when the verticalmotion servomotor 254 transmits a rotational motion through the geartrain 260 to the vertical motion shaft 240, the vertical motion cam link294 translates the pin 296 in a component direction of motion relativeto the X-axis.

FIG. 8A illustrates a rear perspective partial assembly view of thelower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10 of FIGS. 3A-3B particularlyillustrating the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230, the verticalmotion shaft 240 and the PCB 300. FIG. 8B illustrates a rear planpartial assembly view of the lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10of FIG. 8A.

The PCB 300 includes the upper module electrical connection 302, acentral processing unit (CPU) 304, at least one inertial measurementunit (INU) 306, a capacitor 308, a horizontal motion signal output 310and vertical motion signal output 312, at least two Hall-effect sensors314, horizontal motion shaft recesses 316 and a vertical motion shaftaperture 318.

The right horizontal motion shaft 234 includes the sensor magnet 236mounted proximate to the upper PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314immediately adjacent the horizontal motion shaft recess 316 on the PCB300. This upper PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314 may be configuredto determine the relative position and rotational speed of thehorizontal motion shaft assembly 230 based on the interaction of thesensor magnet 236 with upper PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314.

Likewise, the vertical motion shaft 240 includes the sensor magnet 242mounted proximate to a lower PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314immediately adjacent the vertical motion shaft aperture 318 on the PCB300. This lower PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314 may be configuredto determine the relative position and rotational speed of the verticalmotion shaft assembly 240 based on the interaction of the sensor magnet242 with the lower PCB 300 mounted Hall-effect sensor 314. BothHall-effect sensors 314 communicate their signals directly to the CPU304 via electrical connections via the PCB 300.

IMU 306 may include a plurality of accelerometers to detect linearacceleration and gyroscopes to detect a rotational rate of motion ineach of the X, Y and Z axes, respectively.

Horizontal motion signal output 310 communicates a horizontal motionsignal to the horizontal motion servomotor 252, and likewise, thevertical motion signal output 312 communicates a vertical motion signalto the vertical motion servomotor 254.

FIG. 9A illustrates a rear perspective view of the hand guard assembly330 of the lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10 of FIGS. 3A-3B,particularly illustrating the end plates 340, the hand grip assembly 350and the hand guard linkage connection plates 360. FIG. 9B illustrates afront partial cross-sectional view (C-C) of the hand guard assembly 330of the lower module 200 of the hand stabilizer 10 of FIG. 9A,particularly illustrating the end plate 340, the hand grip assembly 350,the hand guard linkage connection plates 360 and the rear rotationalmotion linkage assembly 284.

End plates 340 are mounted with end plate fasteners 342 on the front andrear ends of the hand grip assembly 350. The hand grip assembly 350includes an outer guard 352 and an inner frame 354 that contains lockingslots 356 near distal end portions of the inner frame 354. The lockingthe slots 356 are configured to engage with hand grip mounting tabs 372of the hand guard linkage connection plates from 360 to secure the handguard linkage connection plates 360 to the hand grip assembly 330.

The hand guard linkage connection plates 360 further provide themechanical connection between the rotational motion linkage assemblies280 of the actuator assembly 210 and the hand guard assembly 330.

FIG. 10A illustrates a front perspective view of the hand guard linkageconnection plate, and FIG. 10B illustrates a rear perspective view ofthe hand guard linkage connection plate of FIG. 10A.

The hand guard linkage connection plate 360 includes an interior facinghorizontal motion control linear channel 362 configured to receive thevertical motion cam pin 296 of the vertical motion cam 294. Thus, whenthe horizontal motion cam 294 rotates about the horizontal motion shaft240, the horizontal motion cam pin 296 imparts a horizontal motioncomponent via the horizontal motion control linear channel 362 and movesthe lower module 200 in a direction of the X-axis.

The hand guard linkage connection plate 360 further includes an interiorsupport wall 364 providing vertical motion control pin apertures 366configured to receive vertical motion control pins 368, (as seen in FIG.9A), about which the lower ends of the left horizontal motion link 288and right horizontal motion link 292 are rotatably connected. Thus, whenthe vertical motion cam and link pins 286 and 290 rotate about theirrespective vertical motion shafts, 232 and 234, the connected horizontalmotion links 288 and 292 move the lower module 200 in a direction of theY-axis.

The hand guard linkage connection plates 360 further include end platefastener apertures 370 configured to receive end plate fasteners 342 (asillustrated in FIG. 9A), and hand grip mounting tabs 372 configured tobe received within locking slots 356 of hand grip assembly 350.

FIG. 11 illustrates a front perspective partial exploded assembly viewof the actuator assembly 210 and the hand guard assembly 330 (withoutthe rotational motion linkage assemblies 280 and gear train assembly260). The actuator assembly 210 may be configured to be disposed insidethe hand grip assembly 350 between the hand guard linkage connectionplates 360 to which the rotational motion linkage assemblies 280 areconfigured to be connected to.

FIG. 12A illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module 200 ofthe hand stabilizer 10 of FIGS. 3A-3B in a stowed position, where therotational motion linkage assemblies 280, (both front linkage assembly282 and rear linkage assembly 284), are rotated in such a manner to adraw the hand guard assembly 330 upward into a stowed position where theactuator assembly 210 may be in contact with or in close proximity tothe inner frame 354 of the hand grip assembly 350. For referencepurposes between FIGS. 12A-12D, this stowed position corresponds to astowed vertical position illustrated as the horizontal line Y₀, and astowed horizontal position illustrated as the vertical line X₀.

FIG. 12B illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in a first vertical (Y-direction)extended position, or a neutral position, where the rotational motionlinkage assemblies 280, are rotated in such a manner to extend the handguard assembly 330 into a neutral position, where the actuator assembly210 may be moved away from the inner frame 354 of the hand grip assembly350. This neutral position, for example, may represent the position thestabilization device 10 initially moves to when a user first activatesthe switch 162 on the user interface 160. This neutral positioncorresponds to a neutral vertical position illustrated as the horizontalline Y₁, and a neutral horizontal position illustrated as the verticalline X₀ where there is yet no horizontal imparted motion and the handguard assembly 330 may be centered about a longitudinal axis in the Zdirection of actuator assembly 210.

FIG. 12C illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in a second vertical (Y-direction)maximum extended position, where the rotational motion linkageassemblies 280, are rotated in such a manner to extend the hand guardassembly 330 toward a maximum position, where the actuator assembly 210is moved further away from the inner frame 354 of the hand grip assembly350. A maximum vertical position, for example, demonstrates a maximumposition of vertical travel offered by the stabilization device 10. Thismaximum vertical position may corresponds to a maximum vertical positionillustrated as the horizontal line Y₂, and a neutral horizontal positionillustrated as the vertical line X₀ where there may be yet no horizontalimparted motion and the hand guard assembly 330 centered about thelongitudinal axis in the Z direction of actuator assembly 210.

FIG. 12D illustrates a rear perspective view of the lower module of thehand stabilizer of FIGS. 3A-3B in the first vertical (Y-direction) ofFIG. 12B, and a first horizontal (X-direction) position. In thisexample, the shafts of the horizontal motion shaft assembly 230, arerotated in such a manner to extend the hand guard assembly 330 to theneutral position of FIG. 12B, and the vertical motion shaft 240 may berotated in such a manner to translate the hand guard assembly 330 in theX-axis by translating the vertical motion cam pin 296 within theinterior facing horizontal motion control linear channel 362. Thiscorresponding position of the hand guard assembly 330 corresponds to theneutral vertical position illustrated as the horizontal line Y₁, and ahorizontal position illustrated as the vertical line Xi where the handguard assembly 330 may be translated in a right-ward direction along theX-axis.

FIG. 13 illustrates control and power supply electronics diagram on thePCB 300 for the stabilization device 10. Control of the stabilizationdevice 10 may be accomplished by any conventional or future developedcontrol system which senses movement and directs the actuator assembly220 to counter such movement, thus stabilizing any device to which thestabilization unit 10 may be connected to. FIG. 13 illustrates oneexample of a control system utilizing an IMU 306. In one configuration,the IMU 306 contains three accelerometers and three gyroscopes where theaccelerometers measure inertial acceleration and the gyroscopes measurerotational position. The IMU 306 may sense movement in both theright/left direction (windage) and the up/down direction (elevation) ofthe X-Y plane. The IMU 306 may be mounted on circuit board 300 togetherwith other control components such as CPU 304, power supply 34 (frompower source stored in the power supply case 140), and memory 35. CPU304 will receive position change data from the IMU 306, calculatecorrection information, and command the servo motors, (horizontalservomotor 252 and vertical servomotor 254), to make the necessarycorrective motion. As one nonlimiting example, CPU 304 may be adsPIC33FJ processor available from Microchip Technology Inc. ofChandler, Ariz., the IMU 306 may be a MPU-6000s available fromInvenSense, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., the power supply may be a MCP1825power regulator and the memory chip may be a 25LC512, both availablefrom Microchip Technology Inc.

FIG. 14 illustrates one configuration of a compensation controlalgorithm 1400 as a proportional-derivative control algorithm. The IMU306 may provide the angular rate 1402 of change of the actuator assembly210 in which the circuit board 300 may be mounted. A band pass filter1404 may operate to eliminate frequencies outside of a human walkingfrequency range typically associated with involuntary muscle movementoccurring while a user may be attempting to hold the device with thestabilization unit, for example, maintaining sites on a target. Atypical frequency range for this first band pass filter may be about 0.1to about 10 Hz, or more preferably, about 0.5 to about 5 Hz. The signalmay be used to generate a proportional gain term 1406 and a derivativegain term 1408 with a corresponding gain term 1410. These two terms aresummed 1412 and the resultant value used as command signals 1420 to thehorizontal and vertical servomotors. The band pass filter range givenabove may be merely one example and ranges outside 0.1 to 10 Hz ornarrower than 0.5 to 5 Hz may be employed depending on the requirementsof the system utilizing the stabilization device.

FIG. 15 illustrates an alternative compensation algorithm 1500, andparticularly, for example, the band pass filter 1404 of FIG. 14, butwith more adaptive filtering on the input data 1502 from the gyrosand/or accelerometers of the IMU 306. The compensation algorithm 1500may employ a single, but more preferably, a plurality of digitalband-pass filters (1510, 1520, 1530) to isolate certain frequency rangesand apply a specific gain (1540, 1550, 1560) to each frequency rangewhere after each gain may be summed 1570 and generates command signals1580 to control the corresponding horizontal and vertical servo-motors.

This approach allows greater flexibility in dealing with the interactionof the human hand-eye feedback loop and the mechanical compensationloop. This approach allows the stabilization system to lessen inputwithin a frequency range that may be controllable by the human, e.g.,intentional aiming of a rifle, while increasing input in thehuman-uncontrollable frequency ranges, e.g., unintentional shaking whenattempting to hold the aim steady. In the range where the human may becapable of controlling motion, this approach still helps to furtherdampen vibration, but the input or control authority may be necessarilyless than in the human-uncontrollable frequency ranges in order to avoidconfusing the hand-eye neural feedback loop.

FIG. 15 suggests how movement data in the most commonhuman-uncontrollable frequency range (f(x)1 to f(x)2) would be subjectto a first (highest) gain, movement data in a more ambiguous frequencyrange (f(x)2 to f(x)3 which may or may not represent unintentionalmovement) subject to a second (medium) gain, while movement data infrequency ranges likely to be intentional aiming movement (f(x)n tof(x)n+1) may be subject to lower gains. The common human-uncontrollablefrequency range (f(x)1 to f(x)2) may be about 0.1 to 5 Hertz, and morepreferably, about 0.5 and 3 Hertz. The intentional aiming movementfrequency range (f(x)n to f(x)n+1) may be about 0 to 0.5 Hertz. However,these movement frequency parameters may vary considerable fromindividual to individual or based upon the physical/emotional stressfactors of any given user's environment. Likewise, it may not always bethe case that a higher gain may be applied to perceived uncontrollablemovement as opposed to perceived intentional aiming movement. Such atechnique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,784,529, issued on Oct. 10,2017.

FIG. 15 indicates that the appropriately filtered and amplified signalsare summed to form the command signal(s). The servomotors 252 and 254expect a position command from the CPU 304. The servomotors 252 and 254may have an internal controller that attempts to minimize response timeand maximize position accuracy. Therefore, the CPU 304 takes an angularrate from the IMU 306 and outputs a scaled command to cancel the angularrate on that axis. To do this with a servo-motor that has its owninternal control loop, the angular rate produced by the control systemof FIG. 13 may be multiplied by the inverse of the control loopfrequency (the time between commands) and added to the previous positioncommand to create a new position command and effectively control thevelocity of the servo. Different servos have different internal controlloop parameters, which will necessitate different control gains in thecompensator control loop. In a dedicated implementation, withoutoff-the-shelf components, the two control loops would be combined intoone, and the servomotor would be commanded with a velocity command. Aposition loop around the actuator would keep it in the center of itsrange despite external biases.

In certain configurations, the command signals may be run through aProportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller with separate gains oneach component. In other words, where the PID controller may berepresented by:

${u(t)} = {{{MV}(t)} = {{K_{p}{e(t)}} + {K_{i}{\int_{0}^{t}{{e(\tau)}d\;\tau}}} + {K_{d}\frac{{de}(t)}{dt}}}}$

separate gains may be applied to the separate components of theproportional gain (Kp), the integral gain (Ki), and the derivative gain(Kd).

Alternatively or in addition, FIG. 16 illustrates a control diagram 1600with an alternative controller 1602, substituted for the band passfilter 1404 of FIGS. 14 and 15, that may implement more precisetechniques to used, including but not limited to the use of one or moreneural networks, FPGA-based processing systems, ASIC-based processingsystems, modeling techniques, adaptive controllers or any other suitablesystem or technique, to separate intentional from unintentional motion.

FIG. 17 illustrates a representative digital filter 1700, as suggestedin FIG. 15 by the band pass filter 1404, may be an Infinite-ImpulseResponse filter, meaning that the filter may be recursive. Morespecifically, these filters may be modeled according to the digitalfilter 1700 illustrated in FIG. 17 which suggests outputs 1708 beingcomposed of original input Xn 1702 and previous inputs 1704 as well asprevious outputs 1710. Several previous inputs and outputs areconsidered to the order of the filter. Filter orders (“m”) are mostoften less than ten. Gains on each previous input or output aredetermined to create specific gain patterns in frequency space. Commonmethods of determining the coefficients “A” and “B” include Butterworth,Chebyshev, and Elliptical filters.

No special definition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that maybe different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood bythose skilled in the art, may be intended to be implied by consistentusage of the term or phrase herein. The words and phrases used hereinshould be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent withthe understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in therelevant art. For example, an embodiment comprising a singular elementdoes not disclaim plural embodiments; i.e., the indefinite articles “a”and “an” carry either a singular or plural meaning and a later referenceto the same element reflects the same potential plurality. A structuralelement that may be embodied by a single component or unitary structuremay be composed of multiple components.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific arrangements and configurations.However, the illustrative examples provided herein are not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit embodiments of the disclosed subject matter tothe precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the disclosure provided herein. The embodiments andarrangements were chosen and described in order to explain theprinciples of embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and theirpractical applications. Various modifications may be used withoutdeparting from the scope or content of the disclosure and claimspresented herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stabilization device comprising: a handsupport; an actuator connected to the hand support, the actuatorconfigured to provide compensating planar motion to the hand supportunder control of a motion detection and compensation controller when themotion detection and compensation controller detects motion associatedwith the hand support; and a mounting assembly affixed to the actuatorand configured to be attached to an external device; wherein theactuator includes a first rotatable shaft providing a first compensationmotion to the hand support within the planar motion under control of themotion detection and compensation controller, wherein the actuatorfurther includes a second rotatable shaft providing a secondcompensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion undercontrol of the motion detection and compensation controller, the secondcompensation motion being orthogonal to the first compensation motion.2. The stabilization device according to claim 1, where the actuatorfurther includes a third rotatable shaft that provides the firstcompensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion undercontrol of the motion detection and compensation controller.
 3. Thestabilization device according to claim 2, where the third rotatableshaft is rotatably coupled to the first rotatable shaft to provide thefirst compensation motion to the hand support.
 4. The stabilizationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the first rotatable shaft providesthe first compensation motion to the hand support orthogonal to a linearaxis of the first rotatable shaft.
 5. The stabilization device accordingto claim 1, wherein the second rotatable shaft provides the secondcompensation motion to the hand support orthogonal to a linear axis ofthe second rotatable shaft.
 6. The stabilization device according toclaim 1, wherein a linear axis of the first rotatable shaft is parallelwith a linear axis of the second rotatable shaft.
 7. The stabilizationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the actuator further comprises afirst linkage connected to at least one end of the first rotatableshaft, the first linkage configured to provide the first compensationmotion to the hand support within a first range of motion defined by alinear slot on the hand support.
 8. The stabilization device accordingto claim 7, wherein the actuator further comprises a second linkageconnected to at least one end of the second rotatable shaft, the secondlinkage configured to provide the second compensation motion to the handsupport within a second range of motion defined by a rotational motionof a portion of the second linkage traveling within the linear slot onthe hand support.
 9. The stabilization device according to claim 7,wherein the linear slot is oriented parallel with a direction of thefirst compensation motion.
 10. The stabilization device according toclaim 1, wherein the motion detection and compensation controllerfurther includes: an internal measurement unit (IMU) configured todetect linear and rotational acceleration of the stabilization device; asensor configured to detect a rotational position of at least one of thefirst rotatable shaft and the second rotatable shaft; and a servo-motoroutput configured to control motion of at least one of the firstrotatable shaft and the second rotatable shaft.
 11. The stabilizationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the motion detection andcompensation controller further comprises: a first sensor configured todetect a rotational position of the first rotatable shaft via a firstmagnet on the first rotatable shaft proximate a circuit board upon whichthe first sensor is located; and a second sensor configured to detect arotational position of the second rotatable shaft via a second magnet onthe second rotatable shaft proximate the circuit board upon which thesecond sensor is located.
 12. The stabilization device according toclaim 1, wherein the first rotatable shaft includes a first rotatablelinkage assembly on each distal end of the first rotatable shaft, thefirst rotatable linkage assemblies provide the first compensation motionto the hand support within a first range of motion defined by linearslots on opposite ends of the hand support, and wherein the secondrotatable shaft includes a second rotatable linkage assembly on eachdistal end of the second rotatable shaft, the second rotatable linkageassemblies provide the second compensation motion to the hand supportwithin a second range of motion defined by a rotational motion of aportion of the second rotatable linkage assemblies traveling within thelinear slots on opposite ends of the hand support.
 13. A stabilizationdevice comprising: a hand support; an actuator connected to the handsupport, the actuator configured to provide compensating planar motionto the hand support under control of a motion detection and compensationcontroller when the motion detection and compensation controller detectsmotion associated with the hand support; and a mounting assembly affixedto the actuator and configured to be attached to an external device;wherein the actuator includes a first rotatable shaft providing a firstcompensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion undercontrol of the motion detection and compensation controller, the firstcompensation motion to the hand support being orthogonal to a linearaxis of the first rotatable shaft, wherein the actuator furthercomprises a first linkage connected to a first end of the firstrotatable shaft, the first linkage configured to provide thecompensation motion to the hand support within a range of motionoriented parallel to a direction of the first compensation motion. 14.The stabilization device according to claim 13, wherein the actuatorfurther includes a co-linear second rotatable shaft providing the firstcompensation motion to the hand support within the planar motion undercontrol of the motion detection and compensation controller.
 15. Thestabilization device according to claim 14, wherein the first rotatableshaft further includes a second linkage connected to an opposite secondend of the first rotatable shaft, and wherein the second rotatable shaftfurther includes a third linkage connected to a first end of the secondrotatable shaft and fourth linkage connected to an opposite second endof the second rotatable shaft.
 16. The stabilization device according toclaim 15, wherein the first and second linkages are rotatably connectedto the hand support to provide the first compensation motion to the handsupport.
 17. The stabilization device according to claim 14, wherein theactuator further includes at least one servo-motor in communication withthe motion detection and compensation controller, the at least oneservo-motor is in mechanical connection with a gear train and is inmechanical connection to the first rotatable shaft, the at least oneservo-motor receiving a control signal from the motion detection andcompensation controller configured to provide rotational motion to thefirst rotatable shaft thereby providing the first compensation motion.18. The stabilization device according to claim 14, wherein at least oneof the first and second rotatable shafts includes a magnet disposedthereon and configured be sensed by a corresponding sensor in theactuator to calculate a rotational position of the at least one of thefirst and second rotatable shafts.
 19. A stabilization devicecomprising: a hand support; an actuator connected to the hand support,the actuator configured to provide compensating planar motion to thehand support under control of a motion detection and compensationcontroller when the motion detection and compensation controller detectsmotion associated with the hand support; and a mounting assembly affixedto the actuator and configured to be attached to an external devicecapable of being supported under human operation; wherein the actuatorincludes a rotatable shaft providing a compensation motion to the handsupport within the planar motion under control of the motion detectionand compensation controller, the compensation motion to the hand supportbeing orthogonal to a linear axis of the rotatable shaft, wherein theactuator further comprises a first linkage connected to a first end ofthe rotatable shaft, the first linkage configured to provide thecompensation motion to the hand support within a range of motion definedby a rotational motion of a portion of the first linkage travelingwithin a linear slot on the hand support.
 20. The stabilization deviceaccording to claim 19, wherein the actuator further comprises a secondlinkage connected to an opposite second end of the rotatable shaft, thesecond linkage configured to provide the compensation motion to the handsupport.
 21. The stabilization device according to claim 19, wherein therotatable shaft includes a magnet disposed thereon and configured besensed by a corresponding sensor in the actuator to calculate arotational position of the rotatable shaft.
 22. The stabilization deviceaccording to claim 19, further comprising a user interface moduleincluding an activation switch configured to activate the compensationmotion, and a mode select switch configured to control differentprocessing modes of the motion detection and compensation controller.